Britain advises nationals to leave Ukraine

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UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace

Photo: ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / AFP

The situation in Ukraine is becoming noticeably worse.

Great Britain has now also advised its nationals to leave the country as long as this is still possible in the normal way.

"We urge British nationals in Ukraine to leave the country via commercial routes while they are available," the Foreign Office said in London on Friday evening.

The government also strongly advises against all trips to the ex-Soviet republic.

The deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border has increased the risk of military action, the statement said.

That is why other employees of the embassy would also be withdrawn, it said.

Earlier, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said during a visit to Moscow that Russian troop strength on the Ukrainian border would allow an immediate attack on the neighboring country.

»We must prevent a war in Europe«

In a switching conference this afternoon, the western allies once again emphasized their determination to react to a possible Russian invasion with rapid and far-reaching sanctions.

From German government circles it was said on Friday that the situation was assessed by the participants from the European Union and NATO as "very, very serious".

They want to continue trying to persuade Russia to de-escalate with diplomatic efforts.

"We must prevent a war in Europe," wrote government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Twitter.

more on the subject

• Conflict with Russia: Short-term telephone call scheduled between Scholz, Biden and other heads of state

• Concerns about Russian invasion: US President Biden calls on Americans to leave Ukraine immediately

US President Joe Biden discussed the Ukraine conflict with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other allies on Friday afternoon.

Also invited were EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Poland's President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

More and more countries have recently asked their nationals to leave Ukraine.

Including the USA, the Netherlands and Japan.

The West fears a Russian invasion of soldiers stationed on the border with Ukraine.

mfh/Reuters/dpa